Micropaleontology and Isotope Stratigraphy of the Upper Aptian to Lower Cenomanian (~114-98 Ma) in ODP Site 763, Exmouth Plateau, NW Australia
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses Dissertations and Theses July 2016 Micropaleontology and Isotope Stratigraphy of the Upper Aptian to Lower Cenomanian (~114-98 Ma) In ODP Site 763, Exmouth Plateau, NW Australia Ali Alibrahim University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Part of the Biogeochemistry Commons, Geochemistry Commons, Geology Commons, Paleobiology Commons, Paleontology Commons, Sedimentology Commons, and the Stratigraphy Commons Recommended Citation Alibrahim, Ali, "Micropaleontology and Isotope Stratigraphy of the Upper Aptian to Lower Cenomanian (~114-98 Ma) In ODP Site 763, Exmouth Plateau, NW Australia" (2016). Masters Theses. 361. https://doi.org/10.7275/8392568 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/361 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MICROPALEONTOLOGY AND ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UPPER APTIAN TO LOWER CENOMANIAN (~114-98 MA) IN ODP SITE 763, EXMOUTH PLATEAU, NW AUSTRALIA A Thesis Presented by ALI H. ALIBRAHIM Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF SCIENCE May 2016 GEOSCIENCES 1 MICROPALEONTOLOGY AND ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UPPER APTIAN TO LOWER CENOMANIAN (~114-98 MA) IN ODP SITE 763, EXMOUTH PLATEAU, NW AUSTRALIA A Thesis Presented by ALI H. ALIBRAHIM Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________________________ R. Mark Leckie, Chair ___________________________________________________ Steven Petsch, Member ___________________________________________________ Robert M. DeConto, Member ________________________________________________ Steven Petsch Graduate Program Director, Geosciences Department 2 DEDICATION For my wife and daughter, for filling my life with love and happiness. For my mother and father who raised me up, taught me through my early years and encouraged me to learn everyday. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank Professor Mark Leckie for his kind leadership and guidance and for all the educational discussions and seminars he conducted. I also thank every member of the micropaleontology lab for helping me through all the challenges, Andy Fraass, Renata DeMello, Serena Dameron, Amanda Parker, Chris Lowery and Khalifa Elderbak. I appreciate the support of my committee members Professors Steven Petsch and Rob DeConto. My research benefited greatly from the Bio-geochmistry class of Professor Steven Petsch and the isotope geochemistry class of Professor Stephen Burns. I thank Dr. Geraint Wyn ap Gwylim Hughes for introducing me to the field of micropaleontology in Saudi Aramco. I thank the people at Saudi Aramco who approved my scholarship and trusted me to successfully conduct long term research in micropaleontology. iv ABSTRACT MICROPALEONTOLOGY AND ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UPPER APTIAN TO LOWER CENOMANIAN (~114-98 MA) IN ODP SITE 763, EXMOUTH PLATEAU, NW AUSTRALIA MAY, 2016 ALI H. ALIBRAHIM, B.Sc., UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor R. Mark Leckie The biostratigraphy and isotope stratigraphy of the upper Aptian to lower Cenomanian interval including oceanic anoxic events OAE1b, 1c and 1d are investigated in ODP Site 763, drilled on the Exmouth Plateau offshore northwest Australia. Benthic foraminifera suggest that Site 763 was situated in outer neritic to upper bathyal water depths (~150- 600 m). OAEs of the Atlantic basin and Tethys are typically associated with organic carbon-rich black shales and 13C excursions. However, OAEs at this high latitude site correlate with ocean acidificationδ and/or pyrite formation under anoxic conditions rather than black shales. Ocean acidification maybe responsible for sporadic low abundances of planktic foraminifera compared to radiolarians and benthic foraminifera associated with increased volcanogenic CO2 production during the formation of the Southern and Central Kerguelen Plateaus. Sea surface temperature may have cooled to 11°C in the late Aptian but increased gradually during the Albian. The Aptian/Albian boundary is placed at a negative carbon isotope excursion associated with the lowest occurrence of Microhedbergella renilaevis, typically found within the Niveau Kilian black shale of OAE1b. Third-order sea level cycles, particularly in the middle Albian, produced cyclic changes in the abundance of inoceramid prisms that increased during inferred times of falling sea level. The late Albian OAE1c and OAE1d coincide with horizons of intense pyritization and the absence of all biocomponents suggesting the v development of euxinia. Warm Tethyan waters reached the Exmouth Plateau during the latest Albian based on the presence of thermocline dwelling keeled planktic foraminifera including Planomalina buxtorfi. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Aptian/Albian OAE1b ............................................................................................. 6 1.3 Cooling in the late Aptian and warming across the Aptian/Albian boundary ........................................................................................................................ 8 1.4 The early late Albian OAE1c ....................................................................................... 10 1.5 The latest Albian OAE1d .............................................................................................. 10 1.6 Study Site ........................................................................................................................... 11 1.7 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 14 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ....................................................................................................... 15 2.1 The micropaleontology survey ................................................................................. 15 2.2 The isotope survey ......................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Paleotemperature Calculation ................................................................................... 17 2.4 Age Model .......................................................................................................................... 17 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Age Model .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Micropaleontology ......................................................................................................... 20 3.3 Isotope Stratigraphy ...................................................................................................... 25 3.4 Isotopic composition ..................................................................................................... 25 3.5 Temperature Calculations ........................................................................................... 26 3.6 Isotopic Gradients .......................................................................................................... 26 3.7 Chronostratigraphy ....................................................................................................... 30 3.7.1 OAE1b Kilian Event (Aptian/Albian boundary) ............................... 30 3.7.2 The Albian Sub-stage and Albian/Cenomanian boundary ........... 33 3.8 Albian Oceanic Anoxic Events ................................................................................... 35 3.9 Paleoenvironment .......................................................................................................... 40 3.9.1 Micropaleontology ....................................................................................... 40 3.9.2 Stable Isotope Record ................................................................................. 46 3.10 Comparison of Isotope Records of Bulk Carbonate to Bulk Fine Fraction Carbonates and Benthic Foraminifera .......................................... 53 3.10.1 Carbon Isotopes .......................................................................................... 53 vii 3.10.2 Oxygen Isotopes ......................................................................................... 54 3.11 Paleoenvironment across the Aptian/Albian OAE1b. ................................... 59